THE ULTRAVIOLET AND OPTICAL CONTINUUM EMISSION IN ACTIVE GALACTIC
NUCLEI: THE STATUS OF ACCRETION DISKS

ANURADHA KORATKAR

OMER BLAES

Abstract.
A fundamental component of models of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is
an accretion disk around a supermassive black hole. However, the nature
of this accretion disk is not well understood, and current models do
not provide a satisfactory explanation of the optical/UV continuum
observed in AGNs. In this paper we review the substantial theoretical
and observational progress made in the field. We also try to point out
future research directions that would be fruitful in trying to obtain a
complete, self-consistent model of the continuum-emitting regions.